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Wednesday, Oct. 19
| Deadline to register to vote in general election
| Wednesday, Oct. 19
| Early Voting Press Conference, Massachusetts State House Grand Staircase, 1:00 p.m. | Friday, Oct. 21
| Fall Appeal extended deadline
| Sunday, Oct. 23
| LWVMA ad in Boston Globe
| Monday, Oct. 24
| Early Voting begins
| Friday, Oct. 28
| LWVMA Board Meeting, Acton Memorial Library, 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
| Tuesday, Nov. 8
| General Election 7:oo am until 8:00 pm
| Tuesday, Nov. 15
| Deadline to file League tax returns
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It's Not Too Late -- Fall Appeal Extended Until Oct. 21
In order to give members more time to support the state League - AND support their local Leagues - we have extended our Fall Appeal deadline to Oct. 21. Your local League will receive 10-15% of any contribution you make to LWVMA or our Citizen Education Fund by that deadline! And, if you donate to the appeal, you will not be called for Phonathon, which begins at the end of October.
Your support will ensure that our MOVE 2016 voter engagement initiative gives voters the tools they need to make informed choices; will enable LWVMA to advocate on the issues so important to our members in the new legislative session; and will provide vital resources to our members and local Leagues.
Because membership dues do not cover all of our expenses, we rely on our supporters to help close the gap. To donate online, click here. To print a donation form, click here. Thank you in advance for your support!
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Plan to Tackle the Charter School Study
All Massachusetts League members have received a link to the study materials and consensus questions for the state charter school study. Please remind your members in your bulletin and at meetings to read those materials and to plan to participate in the study.
LWVMA hopes that all of our local Leagues decide to hold a consensus meeting for this study, so that we have the broadest possible participation and a true consensus of our membership's opinions on the questions. An LWVUS guide on holding a consensus meeting is also available on the web page to help you plan your meeting.
The consensus report is due back to LWVMA February 1, 2017, so that a League position can be drafted from the responses for a vote at the 2017 Convention. Schedule your League's consensus meeting now!
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VOTE411 is Live for the Nov. 8 General Election
We have published the VOTE411.org Voters' Guide for the November 8 election. The guide contains information on the four Massachusetts ballot questions (summary, pros and cons from the Secretary of State booklet), as well as responses from Presidential, Congressional, State Senate and Representative, County Sheriff, Governor's Council, Register of Deeds, and County Commissioner candidates. Any voter in the state can learn more about who and what will be on their ballot by inputting a street address.
We have been contacting candidates who have not yet responded via e-mail, telephone, and social media, but would welcome your assistance in encouraging candidates in your district to participate in VOTE411.org. We would like to have complete participation, even from those with uncontested elections, so that voters can have a complete and accurate picture of where candidates stand on the issues. The Voters' Guide will be continually updated with candidate responses, so please encourage candidates to participate.
Another way that local League members could be helpful is sending a Letter to the Editor about VOTE411 (see template in Voter Service Toolkit), or sharing information about VOTE411 with voters during candidate forums.
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Opportunity for Voter Protection Work
LWVMA will again participate in the Election Protection coalition, 866ourvote.org, to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot and have their vote counted.
Massachusetts Election Protection is led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, with other coalition partners including MassVOTE, Common Cause, ACLU of Massachusetts, the Anti-Defamation League, and LWVMA.
Two-hour live trainings, as well as digital on-demand trainings, will be provided in late October so volunteers are well-equiped to spot common voting problems. Volunteers will work in pairs or small groups to monitor strategically selected polling locations with high volume and a history of voting irregularities.
By volunteering for a minimum of 3.5 hours, you can serve a crucial role in preventing and resolving voting issues. Volunteering with young people or those you are mentoring is an opportunity to promote civic engagement.
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Congratulations to Cities and Towns for Strong Response for Early Voting
Massachusetts voters will have the opportunity to vote before Election Day during an 11-day period beginning on October 24. LWVMA worked hard for passage of this reform and will host a press conference with other Election Modernization Coalition partners at 1:00 p.m. today at the Statehouse to recognize those cities and towns that are offering a robust early voting period for their voters and that will win medals as part of the coalition's Early Voting Challenge. We appreciate the work of many of you who spoke with your local clerks and encouraged this high level of participation.
To check the schedule for early voting in your town, you can visit the Massachusetts Secretary of State's website, which offers a lookup tool for each municipality. Massachusetts voters will have several choices about how to cast their ballots: at any early voting location in their community, by mail, or at their regular polling place on Election Day. The Secretary of State's website has information about how to download an Early Voting Application for those who wish to vote by mail.
If you'd like to help local officials spread the word about the early voting opportunities in your town, our Voter Service toolkit contains a template for a Letter to the Editor.
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Look for our Boston Globe VOTE Ad on Sunday, Oct. 23
Thanks to our many League members and friends who designated the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts as their pick of Massachusetts non-profits through the Globe's GRANT program, LWVMA has received a free ad in the Boston Sunday Globe. We've selected next Sunday, October 23, as our date for the ad to run. Find the ad and share the news with your friends and family, and remind them to VOTE.
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It's Time to File Your League Taxes
Treasurers please note! All Leagues must file an annual tax return with the IRS no later than the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of your tax year. If your fiscal year ended on June 30, your local League treasurer MUST file your e-postcard by Nov. 15. Failure to file for three consecutive years will result in the revocation of your League's tax-exempt status. Leagues that receive less than $50,000 in income can electronically file Form 990-N (the "e-postcard"). The form is short and easy to complete.
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Program Planning Coming Soon
The program planning process to develop the recommended program for LWVMA's 2017-2019 biennium is getting underway. Program planning materials will be sent to all local Leagues in early December, so please schedule a program planning meeting for your League before the deadline in early February to submit recommendations.
During the program planning process, Leagues will consider action priorities, the focus of the state League's work for the next two years; action items, specific projects to tackle; and proposed studies, restudies or concurrences.
We will be asking Leagues to indicate their preferences in those categories for 2017-2019. If your League has any suggestions you would like to include on the list for Leagues to consider, please send them to Nancy Brumback by the end of October.
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Check Out Nuts and Bolts of Local League Management
Have you ever wished that there was a single place to go to for answers to questions on managing your local League? "Local League Basics," released at the League Leader Lunch in September, does just that. It includes need-to-know information in the areas of Governance, Membership, Communications, and Finance.
Be sure to check out this handy document designed for both new and experienced leadership. To download your copy, click here. If you have any questions, please contact Marilyn Peterson, Membership Chair.
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Nominating Committee Needs Your Input
The Nominating Committee has received six referrals for Board of Director positions in the coming year. This is a very good start, and we thank those of you who have responded. Please find the Board of Directors job description here and the Nominating Committee Charter and job descriptions here. We ask that you read through these documents. We believe that you will see how open the Board is to doing things in new and creative ways as we work our way into our centennial celebration. In coming weeks, the committee will be calling League leaders to discuss Board positions and potential candidates in more depth. - Lee Bona, Chair, Nominating Committee
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Try Google Voice for your official League phone number!
Google Voice is a great option if you need an official League phone line. Google Voice gives you a new phone number that can connect to all or some of your phones - a phone number that is tied to you, not to a device or a location. With Google Voice you can make and receive calls, text from your computer or device, make voicemail as easy as email, screen calls and personalize greetings.
To set up Google Voice, all you need is a Google account, a touch tone phone, and a computer! Almost all calls in the U.S. are free. To sign up, you simply choose an account type; Full Google Voice includes a new Google phone number that allows you to receive calls to any of your phones; Google Voice Lite includes voicemails only; or if you have Sprint as your phone service provider there is a Google Voice Sprint account to integrate your Sprint phone with Google Voice. To learn more and sign up click here.
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The League Leader Update is distributed to local League board members and LWVMA leaders. Anyone can request the Update by clicking here. Please review this Update for articles of interest to your League and include them in your local Bulletin.
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